The 17th edition of FICCI TAG 2026, FICCI’s annual textile industry conference, commenced today with a strong focus on building a globally competitive and future-ready textile ecosystem under the theme, ‘Nurturing the Next-Gen Indian Textile Ecosystem: Modern Facilities, Stronger Value Chains, Wider Global Reach’. The conference brought together policymakers, industry leaders, manufacturers, exporters, technology providers, and other key stakeholders to deliberate on strategies for accelerating India’s growth as a leading global textile manufacturing and sourcing destination.
The FICCI-Wazir Annual Textile Industry Report 2026 was released during the event which presents a comprehensive assessment of the sector and outlines priorities for strengthening India’s textile competitiveness through modernization, technology adoption, sustainable value chains, and broader global market access.
Mr Sanjay Savkare, Textile Minister of Maharashtra lauded the resilience of India’s textile industry in navigating evolving global trade dynamics and supply chain challenges. He emphasized that greater industry consolidation, collaboration, and investments in modern manufacturing infrastructure will be critical for enhancing Maharashtra’s textile exports and strengthening India’s position in global markets. He called upon industry stakeholders to work collectively towards building scale, productivity, and competitiveness across the textile value chain.
Ms Vrunda Manohar Desai, Textile Commissioner, Govt of India highlighted the government’s continued focus on strengthening the textile ecosystem through focused policy interventions and flagship initiatives. She underscored the importance of modernization, stronger value chains, and export competitiveness, while urging the industry to capitalize on emerging opportunities arising from India’s expanding network of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
Presenting the key findings of the report, Mr Prashant Agarwal, Managing Director, Wazir Advisors, noted that automation, digitalisation, and artificial intelligence will be among the most significant drivers of competitiveness and profitability for textile enterprises in the coming years. He also emphasized the need to attract young engineering talent into the industry and create innovation-led manufacturing ecosystems capable of sustaining long-term growth.
The first session, ‘Designing the Future Factories: Scale, Automation, and Data-Driven Operations,’ explored how Indian textile manufacturers can develop globally competitive, large-scale manufacturing facilities powered by automation, digital technologies, and data-driven decision-making. Discussions focused on enhancing productivity across spinning, weaving, processing, and garmenting operations while addressing the industry’s evolving skill requirements.
Highlighting the road ahead for the textile industry, Sammir Dattani, ED, Sanathan Textiles emphasised that breaking barriers of scale through automation and large investments is key to future growth, while Biji Chacko, COO, Alok Industries stressed the need to combine automation with skilling at all levels. Shaleen Toshniwal, MD, Banswara Syntex Ltd. underscored that scale and automation remain the only sustainable path to growth, supported by PM MITRA infrastructure, while Debabrata Ghosh, VP, Barmag India highlighted the role of advanced technologies such as Barmag machinery in ensuring quality and competitiveness in the MMF sector.
The second session, ‘Farm to Fashion: Stronger & Sustainable Value Chain’, examined opportunities for creating integrated, resilient, and sustainable value chains. Industry experts discussed the need to move towards higher value-added products, strengthen the man-made fibre (MMF) ecosystem, adopt globally accepted sustainability practices, and leverage government initiatives such as PM MITRA, PLI, and other support schemes. Panellists also highlighted the importance of collaborative infrastructure and common facilities to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
The session on ‘Diversifying Market Access: Leveraging FTAs & Exploring New Markets’, focused on strategies for expanding India’s presence in global textile markets. Panellists highlighted opportunities emerging from the India-UK FTA and the proposed India-EU trade agreement, while identifying Africa, Latin America, West Asia, and South-East Asia as promising growth destinations. Discussions emphasized market diversification, alignment of product portfolios with regional demand, and compliance with market-specific standards and certification requirements.
Mr R K Mishra, Additional DGFT, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai, at the session, highlighted the implementation progress of India’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and their potential to provide Indian exporters with enhanced market access over global competitors. He noted that if the textile industry succeeds in doubling its exports over the next five years, exports to the European Union alone could increase by an estimated USD 7-10 billion. Emphasising future growth opportunities, he urged the industry to proactively leverage e-commerce channels for international markets and align production capabilities with emerging global demand trends
Mr Kumar Anshuman, General manager, ECGC Ltd called for textile exporters participation with the support of ECGC and risk cover it provides across the globe.
The deliberations at FICCI TAG 2026 reinforced the importance of policy support, innovation, sustainability, technology adoption, and strategic investments in strengthening India’s textile sector. Industry leaders concurred that modern manufacturing facilities, stronger value chains, skilled talent, and wider global market access will be instrumental in positioning India as a preferred global textile and apparel sourcing hub in the years ahead.
The conference was supported by Department of Textiles, Governmnet of Maharashtra; ECGC, Grasim Industries, Revalyu, Barmag, Zydex, ATE Enterprise and Knowledge Partner Wazir Advisors.
